As Ecuador striker Enner Valencia surged toward the Curacao goal in the opening minutes, a breakthrough looked certain.

With only the keeper to beat from close range, he appeared poised to open the scoring. Such a goal would have left Curacao facing a steep challenge, echoing their heavy loss to Germany earlier in the tournament.

Yet goalkeeper Eloy Room read the shot perfectly, diving low to his left to palm the ball wide. The stop was outstanding and set the pattern for the match ahead.

By the final whistle, BBC Sport analyst Martin Keown was suggesting a counter might be required to tally Room's interventions.

Ultimately Ecuador paid for their wastefulness, while World Cup newcomers Curacao marked their first point in the competition with delight.

Room, the 37-year-old Miami FC shot-stopper, delivered a standout display that equalled the all-time record with 15 saves, preserving a clean sheet in a memorable 0-0 result.

Since detailed records started in 1966, no keeper has recorded more stops in a full 90 minutes of World Cup football, per Opta data.

Only Tim Howard matched the total in one match, though he conceded twice in extra time during the USA's 2014 clash with Belgium.

Room later quipped that Howard must have been nervous watching from home, and said his display deserved a monument back in Curacao.

"Take a bow, Room," Keown said on BBC One. "Absolutely magnificent. The number of saves meant you almost needed a calculator by the end. It became a long list of stops. His reactions were top drawer and he looked set for a shutout all evening."

The display helped Curacao achieve their finest result to date.

Curacao's presence at the tournament owes much to the Dutch-born keeper, the oldest squad member, who produced a vital stop in a November qualifier against Jamaica.

Patrick Kluivert, who managed the side in 2015, persuaded the former Netherlands Under-21 player to represent the nation of his father's birth.

Room, raised in Nijmegen, built his career in the Eredivisie with more than 200 appearances, including a league title at PSV and a cup win at Vitesse, before joining Columbus Crew in 2019.

After claiming the MLS Cup in 2020 and a save-of-the-season award, he returned briefly to Europe then settled with Miami FC in the second tier.

The keeper, who credits padel for sharpening his reflexes, faced just five shots in any single league outing this season, far fewer than the 15 he handled here.

That league high came in a 4-3 victory over Louisville City before a sparse crowd, yet he shone in front of nearly 69,000 fans at Kansas City Stadium, denying Ecuador despite 27 attempts and an expected goals figure of 3.05.

"I am still processing it," Room said. "The game was packed with emotion. I knew it would be demanding. The opening save set the tone for the side and boosted my confidence, and we all grew into the contest. It was a collective effort. We battled until the final whistle and securing a point this way feels tremendous for Curacao."

Room's heroics also wrote a new chapter for the island in their debut World Cup campaign.

They had celebrated an equaliser against Germany in their opener only to suffer a heavy defeat, and now faced a higher-ranked Ecuador side seeking to bounce back from a loss to Ivory Coast.

With a population of 156,000 and territory smaller than the Isle of Man, Curacao is the smallest nation to reach the finals.

The Caribbean territory forms part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima watched from the stands as Dick Advocaat's team earned the point.

It marks only the third occasion a side ranked 80th or lower has gained a World Cup point, with Curacao sitting 82nd beforehand.

South Africa collected four points as hosts in 2010 while ranked 83rd, and New Zealand were also 82nd before drawing with Iran this year.

"This evening belongs to Curacao and all they have accomplished," Keown noted. "It represents real progress in world football. They did not arrive merely to fill a space. This is a superb outcome for them."

Curacao close their Group E campaign against Ivory Coast and could reach the last 32 with another surprise result, yet this performance will be cherished regardless of what follows.